The Golden and the Shadow
by RexProductions
Summary: Team RWBY is sent to a mysterious forest named Stonewoods in order to find any threats dwelling in the caves and the forest itself. What, or who they find is makes them involved in an endless war.
1. The Stonewoods

Team RWBY finally advanced to the second year at the school that trains world's best fighters - Beacon. All four girls - Ruby, Weiss Blake and Yang - worked really hard during the first year and the school's headmaster, proffesor Ozpin, noticed that the girls have a lot of potencial. He decided to give them one more test after the school year ends. The forest nearby, the Stonewods, is rumored to have dangerous creatures within its' range. But knowing the girls have enough skill and their teamwork is enough to take down an adult Nevermore, Ozpin decided to send them into the woods and report any unknown and undiscovered yet dangers back to him. If there are new breeds of Grimm - general Ironwood needed to know about them. Even more importantly if there aren't just Grimm that dwell within the forest. Sending a trained huntsman would be a waste of their time, and those four have a never going out fire in their hearts. He trusted them.

* * *

Ruby was excited when proffesor Ozpin finally let her team go for an actual mission. Just her, her sister and her friends! The team was getting ready and packing up when Weiss suddenly asked:

 **-Where are we even going?**

 **-To the woods, right over there!**

Pointed Ruby outside barely standing under the weight of her luggage with Zwei sleeping carelessly on the top.

 **-Wait, we're going to the Emerald Forest again?**

 **-No, silly! We're going way further than that!**

She answered before tripping and dropping all her bags.

 **-You really don't need that much stuff.**

Said Yang to her younger sister.

 **-It's going to be a days. Why would you take a "Survival Guide"? We won't be living there forever.**

She asked picking up a small, green book.

 **-And why not?**

Said the girl rubbing herself on the head.

 **-Hey, Blake! What are you taking?**

She spoke to the girl on the window reading a book.

 **-This.**

She simply answered before picking up her sword.

 **-Really? Shouldn't we be taking tents? In the mysterious, dark woods you never know when the night might come! And isn't it cool to sleep under a tent? OhmygoshItotallywantto!**

She said and started playing with Zwei who was still angry at her for letting him fall.

The rest of the team was resting as Ruby with the help of her dog was cleaning up the mess.

It was a beautiful and quiet night, but Ruby could not sleep because of the excitment. She's going on her first mission! Go team RWBY! After imaginating her team killing dozens of Grimm, Deathstalkers and Nevermores she finally fell asleep.

* * *

She woke up first and tried to stay calm while her teammates were still asleep. The sun was barely up. She was about to get up when she realized Zwei was sleeping on her knees. So she decided to lay in bed some more.

 _It's a big day, Ruby._

She thought to herself.

 _It's a big_ day.

She was still thinking of the adventures waiting for them in the wild. Maybe they'll encounter something else than just Grimm? Or maybe it will be a whole army of Grimm? Her mind just couldn't rest because of the girl's imagination.

The team started waking up one by one until everybody was up. They quickly dressed and were ready to head out. Ruby was the most excited.

 **-It will be so cool, right? This will be the first step to becoming true huntresses! Well, maybe not, 'cause the first step was to join Beacon...**

 **-Can she stop talking?**

Blake asked her blonde friend.

 **-Oh, she's like that all the time, don't worry about it!**

 **-Is it bad that I am?**

They were so distracted by the conversation that all four of them bumped into proffesor Ozpin.

 **-Oh, professor Ozpin! I'm so sorry I'm just really nervous...**

Ruby started, but the headmaster silenced her by rising his hand.

 **-Girls. I'd like to talk about this mission of yours, if you don't mind. The Stonewoods is a very dangerous place, and I probably shouldn't send second graders on such a dangerous mission, but keep in mind that I as well as the general belive in you. I should also mention you're not going there to wipe out everything you see. It's just a scout mission. But don't hesitate if you find something dangerous. With that said, take these. They will help you if you split up, which you really shouldn't.**

He said and gave an earpiece to each member of the team.

 **-What are these? They look like bugs.**

Said Ruby carefully examinating the earpiece from every possible angle.

 **-Those are called earpieces, my dear and they will allow you to communicate from very far away. Keep them safe and don't forget to use them before you panic. Good luck.**

Ozpin said and walked away. Ruby was still looking at the strange little machine the proffesor gave her. Can it transform into a weapon? If it can, what? A scythe? No, she already has a scythe, that would be lame. Maybe a minigun? Yeah, that would be awesome!

 **-Ruby. We have to go.**

Said Weiss to her friend.

 **-Stop playing with that! You can break it!**

She grabbed the earpiece and threw it into her bag.

 **-I'll keep it safe.**

The young girl was trying to get to the bag, but her older sister grabbed her hood and dragged her towards the exit.

It was early morning, and the fact that the school year ended yesterday didn't help the complete emptiness of the school grounds.

 **-Beautiful day to kick some butt, right, sis?**

Yang asked her sister who was still trying to grab Weiss' bag, who decided to finally give back what she took. Ruby threw it into her own bag, which was almost full, with 60% of it being Zwei, and forgot anybody even said something.

They started walking towards the exit of the school talking about the Stonewoods again - what kind of new Grimm will they encounter? How much time would the mission take? Will there be a hunter to protect them? With all those questions and the conversation that made the time go faster they arrived at their first known location - the Emerald Forest.

Their trip here took them about an hour and the Stonewoods were barely visible from here. The girls stated that the time it will take them to get there will be about five hours.

 **-FIVE HOURS!?**

Shouted Ruby.

 **-But I wanna kill something new NOW!**

She said and fell onto the grass.

 **-The longer you're going to lay here, the longer it will take us to get there. And the longer it will take you to kill something new.**

Blake persuaded her young friend to get up and walk on with them. With a little laziness, of course.

And so began their adventure to visit the unknown to them Stonewood forest. On their way there they encountered packs of Beowolfs and Grimm, that where destroyed in the matter of seconds. They team was getting lazier and lazier, but they didn't give up!

After five hours of walking and killing things they finally arrived at the Stonewood forest.

 **-This isn't as terryfing as I thought it'd be.**

Said Ruby dissapointed.

 **-We're not even in the forest. Come on, let's see what's in there!**

Said Yang and ran between the nearest trees.

 **-Sis, wait up!**

Shouted Ruby and ran after her sister.

Blake looked on Weiss and ran into the forest as well.

 **-Children.**

She said and decided to follow her friends.

* * *

The forest wasn't filled with many placec to set up a camp, but the girls found a field big enough to fit four little tents and a fireplace. They sat near the fireplace and waitet for Blake to be back from scouting the area. They were surprised after she returned after ten minutes.

 **-Did you find something?**

Asked Ruby excited.

 **-Yes, something I thought you should know about. A cave nearby. With two entrances.**

The team looked onto each other.

 **-Lead the way.**

Said Weiss after the team got up.

They were walking for about 4 minutes when they saw a small cave.

 **-It doesn't have two entraces, Blake.**

Said Ruby.

 **-I meant two corridors inside, okay? Let's go.**

She answered and ran deeper into the cave.

After another 2 minutes they indeed saw two corridors.

 **-So, we split up?**

Asked Blake.

 **-It looks like it. Let's go, sis!**

Said Ruby before grabbing Yang's arm and pulling her towards the first corridor.

Weiss and Blake looked each other in the eyes.

 **-Guess it's you and me, now.**

Yang and her younger sister turned on the communicators and put in in their ears. The two other team members did the same, and the squad talked about what they see inside their tunnels. There was nothing interesting, until both teams found two seperate big rooms with. The one Yang and Ruby were in seemed to have another path on the left.

 **- _Yang? Ruby? You found anything?  
_**

They heard Blake's voice from the earpieces.

 **-Yeah, a large room. Looks like somebody dug this.**

Answered Yang.

 ** _-Really? Us too. Maybe we're in the same place._**

 ** _-_ No, I can't see you anywhere. Is there anything of interest there? Like a Grimm nest or something?  
**

 **- _No, nothing. You?_**

 **-There's another corridor that probably leads to another room.**

 _ **-Alright, we're going your way then. Be right there.**_

 **-We'll be wating for you.**

* * *

The room Blake and Weiss were in was really empty. They were about to head back. But suddenly a gate closed where the entrance was.

 **-What...?**

Blake started, but large pipes came out of the walls and started spraying gas.

 **-Oh, this is not good.**

 **-Come here!**

Shouted Weiss to her friend. When Blake got close enough Weiss created an ice shield aroung them.

 **-So uhh...what now?**

 **-Now? Now we wait. How long? I have no idea.**

Blake tried to speak through the communicator.

 **-Ruby? Yang? Are you there?**

There was no response, but the earpiece started making strange and loud noises.

 **-We're cut off.**

 **-Great.**

There was a moment of silence in which the girls decided to sit down.

 **-Who do you-**

Suddenly they heard a lous noise, like a gunshot and noticed a big hole in the shield. The gas from the pipes was already inside.

The girls started coughing and a few seconds later they were on the ground unconcious.

* * *

Yang walked to the middle of the room, looking around her. She heard a noise and looked down to see that she stepped on some trap. She quickly jumped back pushing her sister and making her fall over. The trap that was activated were some tranquilizer darts shot from little cannons hidden in the walls.

 **-On the ground, Ruby!**

She shouted and jumped on the ground. The darts were hitting each other as well as walls on the opposite.

Both girls got up unharmed.

 **-What was that?**

 **-Tranquilizer darts. Looks like someone really doesn't want us here. And that someone definitly isn't a Grimm.**

She decided to tell her two friends about the danger.

 **-Blake?**

No response.

 **-Weiss? Are you there?**

Nothing.

 **-Damn. Something must've happened to them.**

 **-Do we go back?**

Only now both of them realized there was a stone wall where the entrance used to be.

 **-I don't think we have a choice.**

Yang answered.

 **-Come on. Let's play this guy's game.**

 **-What if it's a girl?**

 **-Does it matter right now?**

Yang looked at Ruby with red eyes.

 **-I...suppouse not...**

They headed towards the second corridor, which was just a short path connecting two rooms of the same size. But this room looks like someone lived here - a bed, some food on a wooden table - the threat is 100% human. Or a Faunus.

 **-Woah.**

Ruby sighed.

- **Looks like someone lives here. Or lived. You think it's the same person who set up those traps?  
**

 **-Why wouldn't it be? I mean, it's his home, so he would want to protect it. But something doesn't feel right...**

 **-What is it?**

Yang turned around as she heared her sister's muffled screaming. She was being suffocated with some kind of gas being sprayed to her mouth from a mask. After she fell down, Yang saw the person behind all these traps.

He wasn't tall, a little taller than her. He had blonde hair, yellow eyes, and a yellow mask. He had a yellow "X" on his black clothes and had what looked like a metal bo staff with yellow straps on each end on his back.

He looked at Yang and dropped the canister with the gas inside and grabbed his weapon.

The girl looked at her sister and asked the man;

 **-Who are you?**

There was no simply attacked Yang with his staff. She blocked it, and counter-attacked furiously. The man blocked every punch with no real effort. After a few punch and kick trades, the man kicked the girl's feet and attacked her head with his staff while she was mid-air.

She lost conciousness.


	2. Gordon the Golden

Yang woke up with weak headache, noticing her other friends are in the room with her lying on the ground and...asleep? She got up with more effort than it should take feeling dizzy. She realized she didn't have her gauntlets on. That stranger must've taken them. Shouldn't be too much of a problem getting them back.

She looked around the room and saw a big circle of weak light in the middle. When she looked up, she saw a huge unnatural hole. It must be an early evening - the Moon isn't even up yet.

 **-Yang...? Is that you?**

She heard a voice behind her. Ruby and the rest of the team were waking up.

 **-What happened to you girls?**

She asked Blake and Weiss as she helped her younger sister get up.

 **-I'm not sure. Sleeping gas maybe?**

Answered Blake.

 **-Where are our weapons?**

 **-I think that guy took them.**

 **-Wonderful.**

They were looking at each other and didn't see the golden-dressed man walk - or rather jump - the room with a huge back in his back.

 **-Welcome back to the land of the living.**

He said. His voice sounded young, of a young adult, though it was hard for the girls to tell due to his mask muffling his every word.

The second they heard the voice, they turned around ready for an attack. But they weren't attacked.

 **-Go ahead. Attack me. I'm all defensless here just waiting to be punched.**

He taunted the team.

 **-Wait, where's Zwei?**

Ruby just now realized the dissapearance of her dog.

 **-The dog? Boy was he happy to see me. Oh don't worry about him. Worry about me if you get on my bad side.**

The man replied and dropped tha bag on the floor.

 **-Interesting tools of destruction you've got there.**

He kept talking while digging in the bag. This was their chance. Yang could attack him now and be done with it. That guy attacked them all for no reason and who knows if he's not a mercenary working for the remains of the White Fang.

She did as she thought.

With a punch coming the man raised his hand to block it, out of pure boredom.

 **-You really want to do this again?**

He asked. The fight continued. The mysterious man blocked more attacks than he threw, not actually trying to hurt his opponent in any way. They got to the moment all of their arms were stuck blocking each other's punches. Then something strange happened. Or Yang thought happened.

The man blinked to her.

He pushed the girl away, almost making her fall down.

 **-Alright, let's make a couple things clear.**

He said. Yang was still ready to attack, but now she wasn't sure about the man's intentions.

 **-First...**

He started.

 **-Wait!**

Weiss interrupted the man. She was shaking a bit.

 **-You're a wanted man! You've been killing innocent people all across Remnant!**

 **-If by "innocent" you mean "guilty as all hell" then yes, I am wanted for it!**

The man screamed angrily.

 **-You have no idea what they were. And they weren't even human.**

He looked at Blake.

 **-Neither were they Faunus.**

The team backed up a bit, shocked by the reveal of the warrior's past.

 **-I wanted to be friendly. Really I did. But you just had to make things harder for me.**

 **-Harder for you!? Does it matter if you're going to kill us just as you did to those poor people!?**

Weiss continued.

 **-You have no idea why I attacked them! That fool Ironwood can't describe a real threat even if he trips on the damn thing!**

The stranger was mad.

 **-What do you mean? Innocent people are threats to the-**

 **-Those weren't innocent people!**

The man took a break.

 **-I could kill you anytime I want. But I didn't. I brought you here, instead of chopping your head off right there, right then!**

He continued.

 **-You want to know why I killed those people? Let me tell you. But first a question. Do any of you know the story of Marcus Proven?**

The girls were scared. Ruby was almost crying. Weiss spoke again.

 **-I do.**

 **-Then tell me what you know about him.**

 **-Marcus Proven, also known as Marcus the Mad was a great hunter and was well know during the war between the four kingdoms. His main weapon was his aura. It was so powerful, it actually became sentient, helping Marcus during his missions. But one day that power drove Marcus to madness and his aura wanted to take control over his body and mind. Eventually, it succeded. Tired of being used as a tool by Marcus and started rampagin through the kingdoms killing all who stood in its' way. After many months of chasing it down, the body of Marcus was destroy, thus destroying the aura as well.**

There was a moment of silence after which the man started clapping but stopped after a few seconds.

 **-Good job.**

 **-But what does it have to do with those people? That aura was-**

 **-Destroyed? Hehehe, that's only what your teachers tell you. To make you feel safe. But it wasn't destroyed. It wasn't and it took control over another poor fool's body, and now it's infecting other people to make sure it survives no matter what. My job is to hunt the thing down.**

 **-Take your weapons. Go home. It was my mistake deciding to take you here.**

The man said and used a grapple hook on his arm to grab onto the ledge of the huge hole and left.

 **-Wait!**

Yang shouted. But there was no response. He was gone.

 **-We should probably tell professor Ozpin about this. Quickly.**

Blake said.

 **-Agreed.**

The girls took back their weapons and found a way out of the cave. The Stonewoods are safer than they thought.

 _Right?_

The team found Zwei and their bags in one of the rooms in the cave, specificly in the one the man built as his bedroom. Zwei was surprisingly happy and Ruby noticed a half-eaten piece of meat in one of the corners.

* * *

The team quickly packed their tents up and left the forest. Ozpin needed to know about this man.

After a few short hours they arrived back at Beacon. It was almost night, and the team was tired, but there was no time to stop and rest.

They arrived after a few short hours, quicker than when they went the other way.

They immediately headed to the headmaster's office. They ran as fast as they could. Ruby was the first one to get to the door.

 **-Professor Oz-**

The man in the gold was right there. He was standing right next to Ozpin. But he didn't seem to mind. In fact, Ozpin was smiling.

 **-Hello, girls. I belive you've already met my student, Gordon.**

None of the girls were moving. They couldn't belive if what they're seeing is true. How did the man get to the school unnoticed by anybody? And Ozpin is careless that a murderer is right next to him?

 **-What?**

The entire team said at the same time.

 **-The thing you just heard. I'm not actually a bad guy. Surprise.**

Said Gordon. Ozpin laughed quietly.

 **-Gordon told me about your...unfortunate fate in his cave. He wanted to make sure you're not one of Sentinel's slaves. The Sentinel is Marcus Proven's aura, by the way.**

He said answering the yet unasked question.

 **-He came to me to make sure you don't do anything stupid like contacting general Ironwood. You probably know he's not welcome near any civilized places.**

 **-Wait, so you sent out there just for us to hear his story?**

Asked Weiss.

 **-No. It was an honest scouting mission. But I simply forgot Gordon made the Stonewoods his home.**

 **-"Simply forgot"? What if he took us for that...aura's slaves? We could die-**

 **-Miss Schnee, please.**

The headmaster raised his hand.

 **-Every man makes mistakes, and I'm not an exception. So please, forgive me. I suppouse you earned yourself some free time from all these adventures. You can go now.**

Nobody moved.

 **-You have two months of free time. Go. Have fun at home. Rest, sleep, eat how much you want.**

Nothing.

 **-I'll take that as a proof that you all have a ton of adrenaline in you. I'll send you on one more mission then. You'll go with Gordon.**

 **-What!?**

The man asked.

 **-Ozpin, they are not ready for what's out there.**

 **-You have no idea what these four are capable of.**

 **-Belive me, I do. And these four girls aren't going to last a full minute in a fight against the Sentinel's monsters. Without mentioning the Sentinel itself!**

 **-Gordon.**

The headmaster interrupted his student.

 **-How about we hear their opinion on this subject, hmm?**

Gordon thought for a while.

 **-Fine.**

 **-Girls?**

Team RWBY started discussing it whispering. After a few seconds, they were ready with an answer.

 **-We want to go.**

* * *

The team was back in their room. They were packing up for yet another adventure. For something more dangerous than Grimm and more exciting that the fight at the Emerald Forest.

 **-Are you sure this was a good idea?**

Asked Yang.

 **-I mean, that Gordon guy was pretty serious about that whole Sentinel thing.**

 **-Well, there's no going back now, Yang! And don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine!**

Said Ruby packing up her fourth bag.

 **-I hope so.**

The girls were starting to fall to their beds and sleep. It was a long day. And it will be a longer one tomorrow.

Yang was still thinking the blink of the man's blink.

* * *

 **-Get up.**

Those were the first thing the team heard this day. It was Gordon's voice, and it starled Ruby making her fall of her bed.

 **-Team RWBY reporting for duty!**

She said sleepily after standing up and saluting. Then she fell down and started sleeping again.

 **-Do something about her.**

Gordon said.

 **-And meet me in Ozpin's office in 10 minutes. We'll be discussing the script of this "adventure".**

After those words he left.

 **-How did he even get in here?**

Asked half-asleep Weiss.

 **-Maybe Ozpin gave him some kind of a universal key or something. I don't know. But we probably should wake up Ruby and go to the headmaster's office.**

Replied Yang.

 **-Agreed.**

They started dressing up in silence, which was broken by Blake.

 **-Do you think we can trust him?**

Weiss looked at her.

 **-The goldy guy? Well...I hate to say this but...he was right back at the cave. He could kill us, you know. Either way, professor Ozpin trusts him, so I think we should too.**

The girls spent rest of their time in the room in silence.

When they packed up, they went up the headmaster's office, courious of what they will see there.

 **-It's so quiet here.**

Said Ruby.

 **-There used to be so many people here. It feels really weird.**

 **-Yeah. I think so too.**

Said Yang.

They arrived at their destination in a matter of seconds and opened the door unsteadily.

 **-Come on in.**

They heard the Gordon's voice.

The room didn't look like it did before. There was a huge curtain covering the window, preventing any light from the outside from coming in. There were enough lamps to keep the room light, though. There were four chairs in front of the headmaster's desk.

Gordon was sitting in Ozpin's chair. He didn't have his mask on.

His face was clean - shaven well. He didn't look old, maybe a few years older than RWBY's oldest members. He was staring at the door waiting for the girls to come in.

 **-Don't be shy, I don't bite. Maybe.**

He said.

The girls, one by one entered the room and Weiss, as the last one to come in, closed the door.

 **-What are we here for?**

Asked Blake.

 **-To understand that my job is no joke. And now that you'll be "helping" me, to understand that this is much bigger than the White Fang or any of the Grimm attacks.**

He said.

 **-Let's begin.**

He clapped to times and a picture of a zombified body appeared on the curtain. The monster was dressed in some kind of travelling cloak, dirty and clearly not taken care of. Its' skin was grey, and its' eyes were sparkling red. The mouth was torn and it had long, sharp teeth sticking out of it.

 **-This...is the Sentinel's host. This - is what you can turn into if you're not careful.**

 **-Eww...**

Said Ruby.

 **-Oh yes, it is. The only thing worse is what the Sentinel can do to you. As an aura, it was Marcus' tool of destruction as well as protection. He will summon weapons out of thin air, play with your mind, your thoughts and anything physically or mentally connected to you. That's...**

Gordon clapped.

 **-...where me and my team come in.**

The picture now showed 3 people - Gordone himself and two others.

One of the warriors was a pink-haired woman. She was wearing a pink mask and purple dress(or combat skirt). Her weapon were twin kriss knifes.

The second one was a long - haired man. He looked older than the rest and had blue hair. He wasn't wearing a mask, showing his full beard. His clothes were a blue cape and entirely blue clothes. In his hand there was a morning star.

 **-We were trained in clearing our minds of any emotions when fighting this monster. You, did not, which will be a problem.**

 **-Why are there only three of you?**

Asked Ruby. Gordon looked at her calmly.

 **-We're working in secret. Wouldn't want Ironwood's spies in our team now, would we? As I was saying - this is me and my team, so if you see any of these, think twice before shooting in their direction. Next...**

*clap*

 **-A test.**

There was nothing on the cuirtan. The team heard a noise behind them and quickly turned around readying their weapons and knocking down their chairs.

There were at least ten training robots - switched off from safety mode.

 **-Impress me.**

* * *

After a bit of mess and robo parts were cleaned, the girls sat down again.

- **Well...?**

Started Ruby.

 **-I've seen worse. But this is nothing compared to what it's like fighting Sentinel's creations. Ozpin does have faith in you, though.**

Gordon stood up and walked up to the window behind him. It was a beautiful day.

 **-I suppouse you could come with me.**

Ruby was never so happy in her life. It's even better than when Ozpin allowed her to go to the Stonewoods. She didn't even try to hide it.

 **-On one condition.**

He said and turned around.

 **-You do what I say, when I say. Whathever it is, you listen to me. Now, go see if you've got everything. We're leaving as fast as we can.**


	3. Shadows of the past

Team RWBY was leaving the school, excited and ready. Zwei was trying to sleep in Ruby's backpack, which was hard because of all other stuff she was carrying there. They all noticed Gordon standing near Beacon's gates.

 **-Ready?**

 **-Ready.**

Everybody said.

There was a loud noise of something like a plane flying. A few seconds later, there was a ship in front of them: mainly painted golden, it had the words "The Golem" written on the side. It wasn't big, made for transport of a small group of people. It had visible machine guns sticking on the bottom.

 **-Then let's go.**

Gornon said as he walked inside the ship, which just now opened a door team walked inside as well. The inside looked even better than the outside, having buttons, screens and weapons everywhere. Ruby was admiring them when Gordon grabbed her hood and took her to the cockpit.

 **-Where did you get all these weapons?**

Weiss asked when she was looking at a war axe.

 **-They're trophies, gifts from friends. Basically a plan-B if I somehow lose this bad boy.**

He answered pointing at his back, on which he was carrying the same weapon he was when they met.

He walked up to the door and threw Ruby inside. He stood there, showing the opened door.

 **-Ladies.**

The girls walked inside and Gordon closed the door behind them.

 **-Sit down, relax, have a drink. Actually, don't have a drink. You'll spill it on the controls.**

He said before sitting down in the pilot's chair. The team strapped their belts and Ruby let Zwei out of her backpack to enjoy the incoming views.

Gordon pressed a few buttons on the control panel before strapping his own belt and taking off.

 **-Haven't flied this thing in ages. Might wanna ready some bags in case of vomiting. I really like this ship clean. Don't worry about anyone seeing us. I built in a cloak device myself.  
**

They were flying over Vale faster than they needed.

 **-Umm...were are we going?**

Asked Blake.

 **-We're heading over to Patch island. My friend there noticed a few of Sentinel's monsters there. He said there could be more.**

 **-And who's this "friend" of yours?**

Asked Weiss.

Gordon smiled.

 **-You'll know when we get there.**

* * *

They flew over Vale and got to the island pretty fast, without anyone falling asleep. Except for Ruby, of course.

They landed in the middle of a forest, in a place that looked like it was made for ships to land in. Qrow Brawnen was watching "the Golem" land. He was smiling.

 **-Uncle Qrow!**

Shouted Ruby and Yang and ran towards Qrow immediately after exiting the ship, hugging him.

 **-Hey there, girls. How's the year been?**

He said and kneeled, lowering to Ruby's height.

 **-It's been great! We fought monsters, professor Ozpin send us on a mission, then we met this guy...**

 **-Gordon!**

He shouted after he noticed the man with a yellow 'X' on his chest and a mask covering his mouth.

 **-Qrow. You old bastard.**

Gordon answered and shaked Brawnen's hand.

 **-I see you're not dead yet.**

 **-I'm not that old.**

Weiss had to come close and grunt to make the men remember about the reason they met.

 **-Right, back to buisness. So where's this "den" you were talking about?**

Qrow got distracted by Zwei, who was now in his hands licking his face.

 **-I'm sorry, what?**

Gordon sighed.

 **-Just show us where you saw the Shadows.**

 **-Right.**

He dopped Zwei on the ground and rubbed Ruby's head before going into the forest.

They were walking for about five minutes before arriving at a cave.

- **Déjà vu.**

Said Yang.

 **-What fu?**

Asked Ruby

 **-I know kung fu!**

 **-No, nothing.**

Gordon started talking to Qrow.

 **-You sure this is the place?**

 **-I've seen those things around here, and this is my best guess. It's also where I would hide if I was a brainless monster.**

 **-Good point.**

Gordon grabbed his weapon.

 **-Well, if you don't have any questions, we can go.**

Ruby raised her hand.

 **-What's that behind you?**

In a blink of an eye a monster attacked Gordon. With almost the same speed, the warrior turned around and pressed a button on his staff which made a blue, almost see-through scythe-like blade appear on one of the ends of the weapon. As soon as he turned around, he sliced the beast in half.

 **-Gross. Anyway...**

He got interrupted by screams coming out of the cave. More of the Shadows were coming towards them.

 **-Aim for the head!**

Gordon shouted. The girls were ready to shoot anything that comes out of the cave and Qrow stood right next to Gordon readying his sword.

 **-So they're pretty much zombies?**

Asked Ruby while aiming into the cave.

Suddenly a bunch of Sentinel's creations came out of the darkness, smelling human resistance.

 **-Yes. Zombies.**

It was a bloodshed. Gordon and Qrow sliced and cut everything around them, team RWBY kept shooting and finally decided to get closer. Dismembered body parts - mainly heads - were flying all over the place.

Finally, after at least ten minutes of unstoppable combat, it was over.

 **-Well...**

Started tired Gordon.

 **-I have to say, girls. I misjudged you.**

They heard one more loud shout. It wasn't the one they heard before, though. When they looked into the cave they saw an infected Ursa coming their way.

Everyone backed out of the cave.

 **-That's a big Ursa!**

Shouted Qrow.

When it came out of the cave, it seemed to be at least twice as large as normal Ursas.

 **-Any ideas?**

 **-Watch this.**

Said Gordon with a bit of arrogance.

He ran towards the beast, enlarged his blade and sliced the Ursa's leg off with it. He continued to climb ont the back of it, and when he got close enough to the monster's neck, he jumped off and aimed for it, succesfully slicing the head clean off.

He landed on one knee carrying his staff on his shoulders. The Ursa's head landed right next to him.

 **-Wow.**

Ruby started clapping.

 **-Plasma blade. Really useful when something like this comes your way.**

Explained Gordon and seathed his weapon.

* * *

Sentinel saw it all.

 **-So the fools think children will help them destroy me.**

He laughed.

 **-So come, Gordon the Golden. Let me defeat you like I did two hundred years ago. Let me destroy all you care about again. But this time, I'll make sure you won't come back.**

* * *

They decided to stay in Qrow's house for the night. It wasn't big, but it was enough to keep six people warm and comfortable. Even Weiss was satisfied.

 **-After what happened today, I just need a bed.**

She said.

Later, after everybody had a place to sleep Gordon and Qrow went to talk. It was midnight when they left, so everybody should be asleep. But Yang wasn't. She was the closest to the door, and overheard the conversation.

 **-I still have the nightmares.**

Said Gordon.

 **-About what?**

 **-About that day. The day I was infected. It haunts me. I'm afraid the infection will take over me.**

 **-It haven't so far, why should it now?**

 **-Sentinel's back, more powrful than ever. If it still has the control over his aura in me, I'll turn into one of them.**

 **-Gordon, that won't happen...**

 **-And how do you know!?**

That shout was loud enough everyone in the house would hear it if they were awake.

 **-It took over me once, it can do so again.**

 **-You said you can control it.**

 **-I did. But I might be wrong. The only reason I'm even alive right now, is because my brother sacrificed his life for me. He passed his aura onto me. It created another living aura inside me.**

 **-I know this story. Why are you telling me this?**

There was a moment of silence.

 **-Because Kim's aura is getting weaker. Worn off. I can feel it. When it will be gone, the infection will take over me. Inferno will take over me. And I don't know, what it's intentions will be.  
**

 **-Inferno?**

 **-Sentinel's aura inside me. I was able to imprison it using my brother's aura so it wouldn't do what it wants. But it's getting stronger. It's will to escape is strong. It wants to come back to it's creator. To Sentinel. It wants to help it in it's crusade.**

 **-What do you want me to do?**

 **-I'll leave tomorrow. Continue to look for Sentinel. If I encounter it, it would want to use it's aura in me. Free Inferno. I'll tell the girls to come back here. When I do, promise to keep them safe. Take this.  
**

Gordon gave small machine to Qrow.

 **-It tells you the temperature of my body. And my brother's semblance was control over fire. I will turn into a human fireplace. If the numbers go sky high, find the girls. Don't let appearance fool you. If Sentinel is as powerful as I think, it will try to disguise as somebody. If it's me, look at the numbers. If it's them, ask a question only they would know an answer to. It can mess with your head, but it can't read minds.**

 **-Gordon, I really know you're desperate, but the girls can take care of themselves. You saw what could do back at the cave.**

 **-That was only warmup. Those got infected when Sentinel first grew powerful. They were weak.**

Silence.

 **-I want to end this madness, but Sentinel is smarter than I thought. It stays hidden. Sends its minions to terrorize the city.**

 **-Do you have a plan?**

 **-No. Nothing. But I'm keeping Vale safe. I know that much.**

Silence again.

 **-Let's go inside. You need rest.**

Said Qrow.

 **-Yeah. Thanks.**

The only thing Yang heard now were footsteps. She looked on her teammates. They were awake. And terrified.

Yang remembered stories her mother used to tell her. About her great-great-grandfather Kim Xiao Long. He was a hero, considered by some to be a traitor. And he had a brother.

His name was Gordon Xiao Long.

* * *

The next day everyone woke up early. They dressed, ate breakfast, gave Zwei some of his favourite dog food, and left to get back on the ship. Everyone was inside, when Qrow said something to Gordon.

 **-Good luck. Try not to die.**

 **-Thanks. You too.**

He got inside and sat on his chair. Everybody was silent.

 **-Is something wrong?**

He asked calmly.

 **-Just nightmares.**

Answered Blake.

 **-You all had nightmares?**

Gordon was suspicious.

 **-No, err...Ruby had one and woke everybody up.**

Gordon still wasn't convinced, but he let it go.

 **-Alright then.**

He didn't want to talk about what happened all those years ago. He wanted to keep the girls safe. Out of the fight between him and Sentinel.

He's bringing them back to Beacon. Let Ozpin take care of them. Send them home, make them stay at the academy, he didn't care. Those girls don't deserve to share his fate.

They were getting closer to the school, but something wasn't right. There were battleships around the academy. Ironwood's. Then they noticed.

Beacon was on fire. It's tower - destroyed.

Sentinel finally decided to send its whole army to attack.

The city of Vale is being attacked by a living aura.

Again.


End file.
